Tuscaloosa's Rise School graduates 21 students with emphasis on possibilities

Thursday

Jul 24, 2014 at 11:00 PMJul 25, 2014 at 12:00 AM

Ute Jocham wiped tears away as she watched her daughter Mandy — a flash of red hair and smiles in a grass hula skirt dashing about — rehearse with her classmates for their graduation from the Rise School at the University of Alabama.

By Ed EnochStaff Writer

Ute Jocham wiped tears away as she watched her daughter Mandy — a flash of red hair and smiles in a grass hula skirt dashing about — rehearse with her classmates for their graduation from the Rise School at the University of Alabama.The tears came with the combination of Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” played on piano by a Rise staff member and Mandy’s walk to the dais that represented the culmination of her six-year experience in the integrated preschool program for students with disabilities and peers who are developing normally.Mandy’s older brother, 9-year-old Kevin, is also a Rise graduate. Kevin, who developed normally, attended the school because of his sister, Jocham said.“It’s so thrilling,” Jocham said. “She made such good progress. It’s unbelievable.”Mandy, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome, was among 21 students who graduated from the school located on the University of Alabama campus on Thursday. The Rise program is part of the university’s College of Human and Environmental Sciences and serves students ranging in age from infant to 6 years old.The graduation featured an eclectic soundtrack of rock, soul, pop and country classics accompanied by student skits. Mandy in a grass hula skirt danced along with a group performing to Elvis Presley’s “Rock-a-Hula Baby.”Jocham said she can’t imagine the last six years without the emotional and programmatic support from the Rise school, which she and her husband, Andy, learned about from friends. “Every day when I walked in ... love, there was so much love,” Jocham said.Mandy, born four weeks premature, spent the first three months of her life in a neonatal intensive-care unit because of a heart defect, which was eventually repaired with a surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.Jocham was shocked when doctors first told her Mandy had Down syndrome. “I had no clue about Down syndrome,” she said. The anxiety and anguish over the uncertainty of what that would mean for her daughter’s life became a resolve to make the best of the situation and move forward.“It took us a short while, but then we knew she would be all right,” Jocham said.The Jochams, who moved to Alabama from Germany about 12 years ago because of Andy Jocham’s job with ISE Innomotive Systems U.S. Inc., were advised intervention early was key.Mandy came to the Rise School as a 9-month-old. This fall, the 6-year-old who is fluent in German, English and sign language will begin kindergarten at Northport Elementary School.“It will be a new challenge, but it will be all right,” her mother said.Now Jocham’s dreams for her daughter are of an independent life.“She is such a quick, easy learner,” Rise Director Martha Cook said of Mandy,During the rehearsal, Cook stood on the dais as emcee, greeting each student with a hug and a kiss as they accepted their diplomas. In her praise for the students, Cook noted the dire predictions for some with severe disabilities never materialized.“It’s incredible what children can achieve if you don’t put a cap on them,” Cook said.Cook said the school tries to foster a nurturing, family atmosphere that cultivates a sense of possibility for its graduates rather than limitations. She wants her students defined by what they become rather than their disability. Rise works to build students’ self-esteem with the hope it will continue to grow after the students leave, Cook said.“We want them to get out of here being proud for who they are not for who they are not,” she said.